Seattle City Council kills sale of street for Sodo arena
No team, no stadium. Good on the council for insisting on this.
http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nba/seattle-city-council-kills-sale-of-street-for-sodo-arena/
Bagshaw and Herbold argued that giving Hansen the street vacation — which is valid for up to five years — would have prompted him to seek an extension of his memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city and county once the November 2017 deadline rolls around.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has repeatedly told The Seattle Times, most recently on April 21, that the league is unlikely to move a team to Seattle or expand here before the MOU runs out. That would prevent Hansen from accessing any public funds — which he says are critical to building the arena — unless he gets the agreement extended.
Silver said Hansen having his arena “shovel ready” — via the Occidental street vacation and subsequent acquisition of his permits — would not have caused the league to hasten its expansion process. Silver has said the NBA must first extend its own collective bargaining agreement between players and owners, which may not happen until next year, before a conversation can even begin about entertaining expansion applications.
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